The weather has been suck-hot with no end in sight. Oh well, it's summer innit?

My awesome ajubona (co-godparent) apocalypso23 took us to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.  It was actually quite good, I must say.  And speaking of movies, Byron and I finally saw Twlight (rented it from the Redbox by the McDonalds across the street).  It certainly looked great, and it wasn't quite as awful as I was expecting, but it wasn't very good either.  I haven't read the books and am almost afraid to, but I'm sure I'll probably end up reading at least the first one.

Speaking of books, been doing a lot of reading this summer.  My idea of fluffy brain-candy summer reading is Bette and Joan: The Divine Feud (many thanks to avalon76 for turning me on to this one!).  How I love old-time juicy Hollywood gossip!  Shame on me.  Lots of other books have bookmarks part-way through them as well.  I've become very interested in the white supremacist/neo-Nazi movement (always have been, but lately for some reason it's really captured my attention), and I've been reading some books on that. I can't read those for too long, though, as I end up getting completely nauseated after a while.  One that has me quite hooked is Into the Devil's Den by Dave Hall.  He became an FBI informant and got deep inside the Aryan Nations.  Frightening stuff.  Byron can't figure out why I read books like this.  I guess it's because I'd like to do what I can to fight these people, and you have to know what your enemy thinks and why.  

Mom is doing well.  She had yet another dizzy/clammy/sweaty spell a few days after the last one, but she's recovered.  The hospice people are amazing; I'm so thankful we decided to go that route.

Not much else.  Laundry and dishes and trying to keep cool downstairs during the heat wave.  Wasting time playing a lot of silly games on Facebook.  Just basically keeping myself busy.

First of all, happy happy birthdays to meruti and wymzie! You gals rock my world! (And huge apologies to everyone whose birthdays I've missed. I really suck.)

Let's see - last Friday hoarymarmot and I were the Ladies Who Lunch (at Bob's Red Mill, nom nom nom) and then hit The Bins. I found an old oversized Buck Rogers comic book and an old Seventeen teen etiquette book for byroncaloz (we collect old teen etiquette books, they're hilarious). I am so, So SO mega-jealous of Renee's new iMac!! It is one sweet machine. I used a borrowed Mac 10 years ago when I first got online, and loved it. One of these days... That night TCM Underground showed The Legend of Hell House, which I hadn't seen in years and had forgotten how great it is. The musical score was especially effective, also Michael Gough in an unbilled but very important role. Definitely had elements of The Haunting but I liked this one way better.

Saturday we futzed around the house, then participated in Earth Hour. All the lights went off and electrical use down to the bare minimum at 8:30 pm for one hour. All electronic appliances (computer, TV etc.) turned off. It was awesome - we had dinner by candlelight. We're doing as much as we can for the environment anyway, but this was just a really neat thing to do and fun too. Took some pics which I'll get off the camera and post soon. We'll probably do it a lot more often. BTW, it's gone now but the Earth Hour site had a message board on their home page in the days and hours leading up to the switch-off. Some of the comments from foamy-mouthed right-wingnuts busting a vein over "the liberal media" and Al Gore and Nancy Pelosi and "the socialist currently renting the White House" and how they were going to turn on every light and appliance in their house "full blast" during Earth Hour were hilarious. I replied and basically said, "Are you trying to make the poor babies cryyyy? Because it ain't working. We're laughing our heads off at you. We've listened to your drivel for years, and we're not listening anymore. We're going on ahead without you. If you want to set fire to a big pile of your money and stomp up and down like spoiled 5 year olds having a temper tantrum, go right ahead. We don't care."

Sunday we were on a Quest for Tweezers (man, the good ones are $$$!), then hit the Lombard Goodwill (found a few cool things) and after that went to see Mom. She's doing pretty well considering. We were hungry after that so had an excellent late lunch/early dinner at Thai Cottage. Then we went to Freddie's and bought a ton of groceries. And that's pretty much it.

Today I got my copy of The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For in the mail! YAYZORS! I can't wait to settle down with it and a nice hot cup of joe. Why do I enjoy lesbian literature so much? I find it... strangely comforting somehow. Hmm, obviously I have some unexplored issues.... I also got Everyday Fashions of the Fifties As Pictured in Sears Catalogs. We have the Forties one, and now I've got all the rest of them coming. These are SO awesome. Dover Books is The Bomb Dot Com.

I'm feeling more connected and in tune with the world today for some reason. I think that's good. No definitely, it is.

Oh yeah: 1) If you're on blip.fm, add me won't you? Thank you!
2) Peanut butter and apple butter sandwiches. NOM NOM NOM.

Thanks, you guys. I'm feeling a little better. I really appreciate it.

byroncaloz sent me this a while back; I was cleaning out my inbox and found it again. He got it from one of his LJ friends. I thought you might get a kick out of it.

INTRODUCING: BOOKS!

Introducing the new Bio-Optic Organized Knowledge device, trade named: BOOK. BOOK is a revolutionary breakthrough in technology: no wires, no electric circuits, no batteries, nothing to be connected or switched on.

It's so easy to use, even a child can operate it.

Compact and portable, it can be used anywhere -- even sitting in an armchair by the fire -- yet it is powerful enough to hold as much information as a CD-ROM disc.

Here's how it works:

BOOK is constructed of sequentially numbered sheets of paper (recyclable), each capable of holding thousands of bits of information. The pages are locked together with a custom-fit device called a binder, which keeps the sheets in their correct sequence.

Opaque Paper Technology (OPT) allows manufacturers to use both sides of the sheet, doubling the information density and cutting costs.

Experts are divided on the prospects for further increases in information density; for now, BOOKs with more information simply use more pages.

Each sheet is scanned optically, registering information directly into your brain. A flick of the finger takes you to the next sheet. BOOK may be taken up at any time and used merely by opening it.

Unlike other display devices, BOOK never crashes or requires rebooting, and it can even be dropped on the floor or stepped on without damage.

However, it can become unusable if immersed in water for a significant period of time. The "browse" feature allows you to move instantly to any sheet and move forward or backward as you wish. Many come with an "index" feature, which pinpoints the exact location of selected information for instant retrieval.

An optional "BOOKmark" accessory allows you to open BOOK to the exact place you left it in a previous session-- even if the BOOK has been closed. BOOKmarks fit universal design standards; thus, a single BOOKmark can be used in BOOKs by various manufacturers.

Conversely, numerous BOOKmarkers can be used in a single BOOK if the user wants to store numerous views at once. The number is limited only by the number of pages in the BOOK.

You can also make personal notes next to BOOK text entries with an optional programming tool, the Portable Erasable Nib Cryptic Intercommunication Language Stylus (PENCILS).

Portable, durable, and affordable, BOOK is being hailed as a precursor of a new entertainment wave. Also, BOOK's appeal seems so certain that thousands of content creators have committed to the platform and investors are reportedly flocking. Look for a flood of new titles soon.

Original author unknown

... the last time I actually and literally laughed out loud while reading a book.  I don't mean the usual "ha ha, that was a good one" kind of half-hearted snicker.  I mean uncontrollable, verge-of-hysteria, gasping, stomach-hurting, tears-down-the-face laughter.  Well, it happened yesterday.  In public.  At the bus stop.  The book that caused it all was Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.  Oh.  My.  God.  IT IS SO FUNNY.  It is made of win, carved out of a slab of awesome, release the LULZ - you get the idea.  Go thou forth and read it now.  Even if you've already read it.  Read it again.  Dammit.

I just finished Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel, author of the Dykes to Watch Out For series. Quite an experience. It's her childhood memoir. Her parents fit that post-modern mold that has unfortunately become a cliche: high-strung, neurotic, self-absorbed, distant, intensely intellectual, emotionally stunted. Thankfully Alison chose the graphic novel format to tell her story (I honestly can't imagine her taking on a project that didn't feature her wonderful artwork in any way), and here pictures are indeed worth a thousand words. It's no wonder Alison became a bit obsessive-compulsive herself as a kid; growing up in a world where seemingly no one smiles very much and goes through life with that furrowed, pinched look almost constantly would make me neurotic too. Those who identify Alison more with her character of Mo in the Dykes series may be surprised to discover that here she's much closer to pretentious intellectual Sydney. Her prose does get a bit purple at times: "On the drive home, a postlapsarian melancholy crept over me. I had failed some unspoken initiation rite, and life's possibilities were no longer infinte." Postlapsarian - there's your word for the day. All quibbles aside, though, I really enjoyed this book; some sad, some amusing ("hilarious" is quoted in the Time review blurb on the cover... um, did I miss something?), some thought-provoking, some dream-like. It's not a comic book - it's literature. Highly recommended!

stonemirror2 and beautifulpyre have stuck a spike in my vein called LibraryThing and now I am hooked. Well, as addictions go, I suppose I could do worse. If you're there too, add me, won't you?

Also, I now have a page at Zaadz; if you're there as well, add away. They're a little too New Agey at times, but I'm hoping I can drag it down to Earth a bit, heh heh....

Free People Read Freely!